Dolphin Tale 3
by Raptor2216
Summary: After returning from SEA Semester, Sawyer gets settled for the rest of high school. But, during his Senior year, things take a big turn. His feelings for Hazel become deeper, someone else comes to vie for his feelings, and new additions to CMA change his life. Follow Sawyer & Hazel as they work through their last school year, and discover their true feelings. (Bad summary. Sorry)
1. Chapter 1

**Helloooo, everybody! Raptor2216 here. For all my readers I have now, I hope you have enjoyed my stories so far. And for all of my current readers, and for all the readers I may soon get, I have come forth with a brand new story.**

 **It has finally come. My first real, non-crossover fanfiction! (I am not counting the Russian Hunger Games, since that is probably not continuing)**

 **This is a Dolphin Tale 3 type fanfiction. The intro chapter will take place right after Sawyer's return from SEA Semester. Then, it will cut to Sawyer's senior year of high school.**

 **This will actually be at least 3 stories; this one, and two sequels. I originally planned for only two stories. But my plan for the sequel made it too long. I plan to cut this off just after Sawyer and Hazel go off to college, and have the sequel start up a few months later.**

 **As of now, my chapter plan calls for this to be 52 chapters. That includes an epilogue chapter to lead into the second story.**

 **First off, to clarify a few things. Susie will not be in this fanfiction. I'll reveal the backstory for that in the second chapter. I will instead have another girl fill that love antagonist role to Hazel. Secondly, there will be Kyle-Sandra in this. Third, there will be no Lorraine-Clay. Fourth, the other permanent resident dolphin at the real CMA, Nicholas, will show up in this. And fifth, Sawyer and Hazel will get married in the sequel.**

 **Also to add in this last thing: a major part of the second half of this story and the sequel will be the US Navy, since I am a bit of a military nerd. The Navy as a body will show up a few times, with one ship in particular. And one Navy officer will play a major role in the later half of this story, and the whole of the sequel. (Just a hint. The Navy and this officer may have something to do with Nicholas).**

 **I know this has been a lengthy intro, so let's get going. Here's chapter 1.**

 **Chapter 1- Sawyer Comes Home**

The sun shone bright over Tampa on a cool December afternoon. It was December 23rd. Only two days until Christmas.

In the skies over Tampa, a United Airlines Boeing 787, flight number 735, coming from Boston after a stop in Washington DC, was descending towards the Tampa International Airport. At 2:43 PM, Flight 735 touched down on the runway. At 2:50, the big 787 pulled up to its gate, and the passengers began to disembark only a few minutes later.

As passengers from the flight continued to stream out of the jetway, Sawyer Nelson exited to the jetway into the terminal. He smiled brightly. After being at sea for SEA Semester for the past three months, during which he had turned 15, he was finally home in Tampa.

He turned around to see his cousin Kyle coming off the jetway, with a look of satisfaction on his face. Sawyer felt the same way. His first ride on a 787 had been a very pleasant one.

Kyle smiled at his younger cousin. "Hey, Sawyer. There you are. come on. We'd better head down to the baggage claim."

As the two of them headed for baggage claim, Sawyer thought about the trip. SEA Semester had been amazing; a real learning experience for him. But, at last he was back, and just in time for Christmas.

As Sawyer reached the bottom of the escalator to baggage claim and stepped away, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw it was Kyle.

"Well, bud, we're finally home," said Kyle. "Yeah. I know. It felt like forever that I was gone," replied Sawyer.

"So, are you excited to see Winter and Hope? Your mom? Dr. Clay? A certain blond haired girl with freckles?" Kyle ended with a grin.

Sawyer smiled until Kyle said that last one. He instantly felt himself go a little bit red, and his smile morphed into a look of surprise. "What? What are you talking about?"

Kyle grinned even more. "Ooh. Getting a little flustered, are we?"

Sawyer felt himself getting more red, and a feeling of embarrassment began to grow in him. He struggled to contain himself, and managed to put on a calm face. "Yes. I am excited to see Hazel, just like everyone else."

Kyle's grin grew even bigger and more mischievous, and Sawyer knew that Kyle didn't believe him. Luckily, his cousin didn't press the subject.

Sawyer looked away from Kyle. In truth, he had thought about Hazel a lot on his trip, and he had missed her a lot. But he didn't want to admit it.

Kyle broke the silence. "Let's go find our carousel. The bags shouldn't be too much longer." Sawyer nodded, and the two headed to the carousels.

After looking for a minute, they found a carousel with "UA 735" on its display screen. They stood patiently, and didn't have to wait for more than 4 minutes before the carousel began to move and the bags started coming up the chute and onto the carousel.

Kyle and Sawyer spread out a little bit, looking for their bags. They didn't take long. It only took a few minutes for Kyle to get both of his suitcases, and Sawyer to find one of his.

As Sawyer found his second suitcase and lifted it off the carousel, he heard a familiar, feminine voice call out, "Sawyer! Kyle!"

Sawyer turned around to see his mom coming towards him and Kyle. Sawyer smiled brightly and called back, "Mom!"

He rushed to meet her. As they reached each other, Sawyer dropped his suitcases and threw his arms around his mom.

"Oh, Sawyer, you're home," said Lorraine, tears starting to well up. "I missed you, mom," said Sawyer. "I missed you too, sweetheart," said Lorraine.

They stayed in their embrace for a few more moments, then they separated. Lorraine then greeted Kyle and gave him a hug too. As they separated, Lorraine smiled and said, "Well, grab your bags and let's get going."

Sawyer and Kyle grabbed their bags and followed Lorraine out of the terminal and towards the parking lot. Once they got there, they found the car, Sawyer and Kyle piled their bags into the car, then all three of them hopped in for the ride home.

When they reached Kyle's parents' house, Lorraine stopped and let Kyle out so that he could go put his bags away.

While Kyle was in the house, Lorraine turned to Sawyer. "Once he gets back out here, we'll head over to the aquarium. Did you miss everyone there?"

"Yes, of course," said Sawyer. "Anyone in particular?" his mom asked curiously.

Sawyer almost started to say "Winter", but stopped himself. He had missed Winter terribly, but he felt his mom was trying to get him to admit something more. SO he didn't say anything. Lorraine gave a sly grin before she changed the subject. "Did you get to do your Christmas shopping on your trip? If not, I can take you tonight."

Sawyer responded, "Don't worry mom. I took care of it when I was in Boston." He had actually gotten back to Boston three days earlier, and had stayed with Kyle there until their flight today.

Kyle returned from the house a minute later. He hopped in the car, Lorraine started the car back up, and they took off for Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Hazel smiled as she walked up to the dolphin pool. Winter and Hope came up to the surface, whistling and clicking.

"Hey, girls," she said, "Can you believe it? Sawyer's coming home today. He's been gone for so long. Are you excited?" Her question was met with more whistling and clicking.

Hazel walked around to the edge of the pool, with no railing in front of her. She looked up at the sky. She had been waiting for Sawyer to come home. She had missed him a lot. And while he was gone, she had started to realize that maybe she felt more for him than just a friend.

All of a sudden, Winter began to whistle. Hazel looked down at her. She quickly recognized the familiar whistle. Tweety Bird. Then, before she could do anything, something pushed her from behind, and she fell into the pool.

She quickly surfaced and turned to look at the culprit. Right behind where she had been standing was Sawyer, laughing.

"Sawyer! You're back!" said Hazel. Then, she said in a slightly irritated voice, "There wasn't a better way to say hello than shoving me in the pool?" "Nope," responded Sawyer, still laughing.

Hazel shook her head, then swam over the other end of the pool and got out. Sawyer came over to meet her. He was still several steps away when she ran at him and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Sawyer, it's so good to have you back. I missed you a lot," she said. Then she pulled back and added with a smile, "And so did Winter!"

Sawyer smiled. "I missed you guys too. I'm glad to be back. But, I think I'd better go say hi to everyone else." Together, he and Hazel headed down to the main floor.

Everyone at the aquarium was thrilled to see Sawyer. They told him how much they had all missed him, and gave him a couple of welcome home presents.

After a few hours, Sawyer went home with his mom and spent the rest of the day with her, mainly by finishing putting up the last of their Christmas decorations.

Two days later, Sawyer and his mom celebrated Christmas with the crew at CMA. Sawyer loved the scrapbook Hazel gave him of his years at CMA. Hazel loved the necklace with the dolphin charm that Sawyer got her.

As they had Christmas dinner together, Sawyer cast his thoughts forward to his future. He was finally in high school. It wouldn't be long before he would head off to college. He thought about how hectic the next few years were going to be, but couldn't wait to see what was going to happen in his life.

Little did he know that, before too long, his life was going to change a lot, more than he ever thought.

 **And, that's the end. I know this is probably a poor ending, and probably not the best overall chapter, but I just wanted to do this as an intro.**

 **Next chapter will begin in Sawyer's senior year of high school. I plan on Bethany Hamilton returning sometime in the next few chapters, and making regular appearances from time to time.**

 **Also, Sawyer and Hazel will not actually get together for some time. Well past the halfway point of the story.**

 **And, for those who are wondering, the Navy will not appear for a while. I can guarantee that up to Chapter 15 will be Navy-free.**

 **Well, I hope this wasn't too bad of a chapter. Please, please review and give me advice and ideas you'd like to see happen in the story. And I hope to have Chapter 2 up before too long.**

 **Raptor2216 out.**


	2. Chapter 2- Senior Year

**Hello, everybody. I am back again.**

 **I hope the opening chapter of this fanfiction was not a disappointment. Now, it's time to get down to business.**

 **This chapter picks up just under three years from where Chapter 1 left off. Sawyer has just begun his senior year of high school. I plan on starting the growth of the Hawyer relationship in this chapter. It will take a very long time for them to get to their first kiss and start dating, though. And I mean a very, very long time.**

 **Well, that's enough of that. Let's get going.**

 **Chapter 2- Senior Year**

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Pre-Calculus. I'm Mrs. Myers, and I'll be your teacher this year."

Sawyer held his pencil to his notebook, looking intently at Mrs. Myers. It was his first day of his senior year. Pre-Calculus was his last class of the day. And the one he was the least excited for.

Things had been going very well lately. High school had gone very well. He had been able to greatly improve his study habits, and had gotten very good grades in all his classes. He had taken several interesting elective classes, and had taken 2 years of Spanish. Now, he was in his final year. He was very excited for this year. What was even luckier, he was taking fewer classes this year than usual, meaning he got out of school at noon instead of 2.

"Today,we are going to start with a little meet and greet activity. I'm going to pass out a sheet of paper to each of you. Each one has certain characteristics or things people may have done. Your job is to go around and find someone who has one the characteristics on your sheet or done one of the things on your list, then write that person's name down beside that thing. The goal is to have a name beside everything on that list."

After she passed out the sheets, Mrs. Myers said,"Well, off you go." Sawyer stood up, and began walking around, talking with everyone to find names. It turns out that "Met Winter the dolphin" was one of the things on the list, and everyone else had already put his name down for that. That made him laugh a little.

The meet and greet activity lasted for about 20 minutes. After that, Mrs. Myers sat them down and started going over a review exercise, going over stuff that they had learned last year. At the end of class, she assigned them a brief homework assignment: a handful of problems from the review section at the beginning of their textbooks. Then, the bell rang, and Sawyer jumped up from his seat and hurried out into the parking lot. He climbed into his car, an old Toyota Sienna minivan that his mom had bought for him for cheap from a colleague last year, then drove out of the parking lot, making a beeline for the CMA.

(CMA)

Hazel made one last mark on the paper, then set down her notebook. She looked up from her position in the crow's nest of their house boat. She just finished her first essay of the year.

Hazel had actually started her homeschooling a week earlier. She found it slightly amusing that back when Panama died, she told Sawyer she rarely come up in the crow's nest anymore. But, in the past few years, with schooling getting more tough,she had found herself spending quite a bit of time in the crow's nest.

She picked her notebook up again, then started down the ladder. She saw more cars were starting to pull up to the aquarium. She had to hurry. She was done for the day, and she had to hurry back to the aquarium. The busy time of day was starting.

As she walked over to the aquarium, she thought about recent years. Things had been going extremely well. Winter and Hope were as close as ever. They had rescued and released four more dolphins in the last 3 years. Also, the aquarium had expanded, and now also included a small interactive facility where people could get a hands-on experience with certain animals.

In her personal life, things were just as good. She had enjoyed high school, even if she was homeschooled. She was currently trying to decide whether she wanted to go to college, or just stay and work at the aquarium.

Also, in the past few years, she had been going through something she had confided in nobody about. In the first few years she knew Sawyer, she had grown to like him a little. But, over the past few years, her feelings towards him had grown by a lot. Things had gotten awkward when Susie started to show she liked Sawyer. But, she had moved to North Carolina about 2 years ago because of her dad's job. Secretly,Hazel had been happy about it, because that meant she wouldn't be able pursue Sawyer anymore. However, since then, she had just been unable to admit her feelings. The few times she really thought about it,she chickened out. So she had kept her feelings to herself as they grew stronger. The only person who knew besides herself was Phoebe, who had managed to get it out of her about a year ago. Luckily, Phoebe had agreed to keep Hazel's secret.

Hazel blushed as she thought of Sawyer, and how happy she would be to see him when he got to the aquarium. She knew she couldn't keep her feelings to herself forever. Especially since Sawyer might be leaving for college after he graduated. But, she wasn't sure she could do it. She would just have to judge it carefully.

As she entered the aquarium, Phoebe came up to her. "Hazel, you better get up to the dolphin pool. Our first show of the day is in just a little over an hour. Sawyer will be here soon." Hazel nodded. "Okay. I'll head up there." She jogged up the stairs.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she hurried to the railing above the pool. Winter and Hope quickly came to the surface, whistling and clicking.

"Hey, girls," Hazel said, "How are you?" Hope trilled loudly, and Winter gave a few quick clicks.

"We better get ready. We've got a show to do in a little while," Hazel said.

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her. "Yeah, we do," said a very familiar voice.

Hazel smiled. She pulled out of those arms, then turned around, and there was Sawyer, smiling at her.

"How was your first day of school?" Hazel asked. "Not bad," said Sawyer, "But that's not important. What's important is that I haven't seen Winter and Hope in a day, and I want some quality time with them."

Hazel smiled. "Well, then let's not waste time."

The two of them smiled, then hurried into the pool. They had a very enjoyable day with Winter and Hope, and doing their shows for the day.

When Hazel went to bed that night, she had dreams of her and Sawyer together, playing with Winter and Hope, and then spending an evening together on the beach, ending with them walking into the sunset. Even though she was still asleep, a smile crossed Hazel's face.

 **And there is the end of this chapter. I know it has been so long since I started this story. I am getting into a Dolphin Tale phase. So, I hope to publish more chapters in the near future.**

 **For now, just review, and stay excited for future chapters.**

 **Raptor2216 out.**


	3. Chapter 3- A Date?

****Hello guys. Yes, I am back with another chapter.****

 ** **Don't really have anything to say. Let's get going.****

 ** **Chapter 3- A Date?****

Hazel jumped the final stair and landed on the floor. She hurried off to the dolphin pool viewing window. It only took a second for Hope to swim by, spinning as she went.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching her. Turning, she saw Sawyer approaching. It was currently Saturday, so Sawyer didn't have school. It was about noon, and there actually wasn't too many people at the aquarium.

"Hey, Hazel," said Sawyer. "Hey," she responded. "What you doing?" he asked. "Just watching Hope," she said.

Sawyer joined her at the window to watch Hope swimming around. Right as he did, Winter swam into view as well. She came right up to window and looked at the two of them. Sawyer put his hand right up to the glass, and she pressed her beak to the glass. The two of them stood in that position for several moments before Winter backed up and swam after Hope.

Sawyer and Hazel stood there for a moment in silence. Then, Sawyer said, "Hey, since we don't have anything going on for like two hours, what do you say we go get some ice cream at Dairy Queen?"

Hazel smiled. She hoped she just looked like she enjoyed the idea, because inside, her stomach was turning. Sawyer had never asked her to go do something like this with him. She just hoped to death that her inner emotions weren't showing on her face.

"Sure. That would be nice. Let me go tell my dad so he knows where I'm going. I'll meet you out front," Hazel said. Sawyer nodded with a smile, then turned and walked towards the entrance.

As Hazel hurried off to find her dad, she almost felt like shouting for joy. She had a date with Sawyer. Well, not really a date. He was just inviting her to go get some ice cream during their break. Still, they had never done something like this before, just the two of them.

It didn't take her long to find her dad. He was upstairs watching the otters, especially one that had come in just a week ago.

"Hey. Dad," Hazel asked. He turned around to face her.

"Hey, sweetheart," Clay said. "I have something I wanted to ask you. Since we don't have anything to do for a while, Sawyer asked me if I wanted to go get ice cream with him. Is that okay?" Hazel asked him.

Clay smiled. "Sure. Go ahead. Make sure you're back here for the show though." "I will," said Hazel, and she hurried off.

As Clay turned back to look at the otters again, he smiled to himself. For a while, he had held suspicions that Hazel liked Sawyer, and he thought Sawyer might like Hazel. If Sawyer was asking Hazel to go get ice cream, maybe things would progress with those two after all.

Hazel hurried down to the first floor. She hurried out of the front door, and saw Sawyer waiting by his van. He waved to her, and she hurried over.

Sawyer smiled. "Okay. Let's go." The two of them hopped in the van, and Sawyer drove off.

It was a quick drive to Dairy Queen. They hopped out of the van once Sawyer turned it off, then walked into Dairy Queen. As they did, Sawyer saw his friend Daniel from school getting into his car. They waved to each other, then Daniel looked between him and Hazel and raised his eyebrows a few times while grinning. Sawyer glared at him a little, then followed Hazel inside.

They ordered their ice cream, then walked outside to a table to eat it. As she licked her ice cream, Hazel felt so happy. Maybe they weren't on a date, but she was still getting some quality one-on-one time with Sawyer.

"How've you been doing with your schooling?" Sawyer asked. "Alright. It's been tougher than it's ever been, but,then again, it's my last year," Hazel responded.

"Are you going to go to college?" Sawyer asked. "I don't know. If I went to college, I wouldn't be able to spend as much time at the aquarium. Plus, I don't know what I would study that could help me at the aquarium that I don't already know. Still, it would be nice to be further my education," Hazel said.

After a moment, Hazel said, "What is your plan for college?" "I definitely want to go. I'm going to start looking into specific colleges soon," he responded.

Hazel nodded. Then, with a smile, she said, "Your 18th birthday is coming up. What are going to do for it?"

Sawyer returned the smile. "I'm definitely having a party. I'm planning for it to be at the aquarium. My mom also promised to take me out to a special birthday dinner at whatever restaurant I want."

Hazel smiled. "That sounds nice." Then, with a bigger grin, she said, "I'm sure Winter and Hope will like being able to go to your birthday party." Sawyer chuckled a little. "True," he said.

They chatted about a few more things. Then, when Sawyer finished his ice cream,and Hazel was nearly done, Sawyer said, "Well,we better get going. If we hurry back, we can get some alone time with Winter and Hope before the show." Hazel nodded. They both got back into his van, Hazel still finishing her ice cream, and drove back to CMA.

 ** **That is the end of that chapter. Yeah, I know it's short, but hopefully it's not bad. Next will feature Sawyer's 18th birthday and his party.****

 ** **Also, a quick note. I have published a new fanfiction I'm really excited by, and have big plans for. It's a crossover between Arrow and Star Wars. Go check it out.****

 ** **I plan on publishing chapters to this story regularly from now on. Next will be up in the next few days. Until then, review and tell me what you think of the story so far.****

 ** **Raptor2216 out.****


End file.
